Life of a youth pastor .

Subscribe

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Contact

Theme revealed for Orange Conference 2016!

October 5, 2015 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

MONDAY is when reality hits.
MONDAY is when Sunday is tested.
MONDAY is when faith has to work.

Monday is a big deal for students, it can make or break their week. It’s the day that they forgot they had that test, their girlfriend dumped them, they got cut to second string on the team. Monday is the day the student enters back into “real life” the reality that the weekend isn’t going to last forever and the hat of responsibility must be worn well to succeed in school, sports, friendships, etc.

As a youth worker do ever ask yourself on Mondays “I wonder if they are living it out today? I wonder if it really stuck with them?”

Monday is an important day and I couldn’t be more thrilled that we will aim at this day of the week during the Orange Conference.

Join me and the thousands of others that have committed to love the next generation with the love of Jesus. Let’s learn together. I hope to see you there!

Registration opens this Thursday, October 8. Set a reminder now to register on opening day and save $80 off regular rates + get INSIDER FIRST ACCESS to breakouts! FOR ONE DAY ONLY!

Join the conversation on Twitter using #OC16

Filed Under: Student Ministry Tagged With: OC16, orangeleaders, stumin, thinkorange, XP3, youthmin

Get off the stage, you talk too much!

September 7, 2015 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

shh2If the statement upsets you it could be a deeper conviction or perhaps I’m right. However, I’m not here to guilt trip you, but rather offer up one of the best kept secrets I have run into this past year. The method has benefited my student ministry tremendously.

You and I both know that even the most gifted and rehearsed speaker won’t connect with every student. I receive compliments and encouragement from some students while getting blank stares from others. Your audience needs different voices offering up the same truth in different tones. Just as there are a kazillion love songs on the radio, some prefer country music while others like the fat beat of a heavy rap song with a similar story…in both songs someone is stealing the girl or running off with their high school sweetheart  (I understand country music lyrics a little bit more clearly than rap…but maybe that’s just me?).

I found that asking guest speakers to take on a speaking series is beneficial to everyone involved in the equation. A couple of quick thoughts:

  • Give your audience another voice to connect with.
  • Rather than spend time on message prep that week, solve other problems in your ministry.
  • Allow a speaker/teacher to grow in their gifting.
  • Taking off a Sunday in the future will be much more possible when you share the stage with others.
  • Pastoral staff and those with the gift of teaching are selected guest speakers. BE SELECTIVE.
  • One day when you leave your position students will be more receptive to hearing from other voices…even the next youth pastor.

How often should you share the stage? The old-school youth pastor and even some modern day yp’s will speak every single Sunday. If you want to burn out and hate your job…then continue this method. Even if you LOVE speaking…your ministry needs your attention in other places other than the stage. I have done some math and it appears over the past year that I speak 40-50% of the time. That means that I am one of if not the most consistent faces on stage but not appearing every Sunday.

Getting off the stage has allowed me to recruit, train and cast vision for my leaders like never before. This year we have a full volunteer staff of almost 60 showing up every Sunday to lead small groups, greet students and serve up a meal for our high school program. This would not have been possible if it weren’t for the team of speakers I have around me that pour in their time to teach our students while I work on other “behind the scenes stuff” during the week.

In case the question came to mind. We use Orange’s Xp3 curriculum as our foundation for a teaching manuscript and small group questions. I allow the guest speaker to add their own stories and even some main points, but they have to stick to the bottom line and use the scripture given.

So, I leave you with this question: Who are you sharing the stage with?

Filed Under: Church Planting, Leadership, Student Ministry Tagged With: church, message, Orange, orange leaders, speaking, stumin, Sunday, thinkorange, XP3, youth group, youth pastor, youthmin

XP3 – Free 3 week series!

March 17, 2014 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

xp3

One of the first questions I get when hanging out with another student pastor is, “What curriculum do you use?” I have gone a few different routes in the past, but have been using XP3 for about a year now. Here’s what I love most…they give you EVERYTHING you would ever need for a series and then some more. For every series you get small group questions, large group manuscript, access to bumper videos, logos, leader email templates, etc. The content seems to always be relevant, I take the manuscript and make it my own. XP3 gives both the young and well seasoned youth pastor a great platform to engage students with God’s word.

Take a quick look at this for your group, and try a free 3 week series!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: church, curriculum, free, oc14, Orange, speaking, student ministry, student pastor, XP3, youth pastor

Got Curriculum? Customization.

August 11, 2012 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

Customization. This is what I love doing…it might be the artist in me or perhaps I’m just picky when it comes to things I really care about. One of those things is curriculum. Catch up with postings #1 and #2 if your just now joining me about curriculum. The clock is ticking for some of you and may need curriculum for your students and leaders in the school year ahead!

I used LIVE curriculum last year, and my current middle school guy  at Gateway is using XP3 from the folks that help put together the Orange conference and tour each year. I remember this stuff from when I first attended the Orange conference in Atlanta some years back. Now that I have my hands on it, I gotta say, not too shabby! Like I said, I love to customize things and XP3 does give you the ability to do that. I’m teaching from their curriculum this upcoming Sunday…a lesson on God dwelling with us. Though I like the meat of the message there are some things I could do without and some of my own life story I’d like to add. Well, it comes in a word document and you can move around as much as you want!

The LIVE curriculum is very similar in giving you a PDF and Word document for both your message and your small group questions. You can also have many topics and series to pick from – plenty to customize your own school year, even for each specific grade!

If you are thinking about writing your own curriculum…I’d advise against it, my team tried this a few years back. Unless you have tons of extra time to devote, it becomes a black hole of pages, fonts, and writing. Plus, there are people already giving every day to this stuff – LIVE, Xp3, others you may add to the list. In my book, leave it to the professionals and find one that fits my ministry best.

Happy curriculum shopping!

Subscribe for live updates via email in the top right hand corner!

Need a good read? Check out my library!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: curriculum, customize, Gateway Church, library, LIVE, Orange, Simply Youth Ministry, XP3, Youth Ministry, youth pastor

Hey there, my name is Chris. I wake up every morning thinking youth ministry. If you are in the same boat, then I know you will identify with me, because you also live the life of a youth pastor .

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Twitter

Stuff you should read

Best Bible Memory Apps
GroupMe - A safer way to text & communicate in groups.
Does failure define a leader?
5 (reasonably priced) gift ideas for small group leaders and volunteers
StuMin Survey

Here’s a book I recommend

MakeBelieve

Copyright © 2022 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in